A TAWNY Owl has been rescued from a stretch of the River Thames near Reading.
The owl, nicknamed Luna, was found entangled in a discarded fishing line and suspended from a tree over the icy river at Mapledurham Lock in Purley-on-Thames.
Local Photographer, Tina Cleary, noticed the bird when on a family walk and knew she needed to act quickly to save the owl from any further distress.
Ms Cleary said: “We were walking along the river and to our surprise spotted something dangling from the tree, when we got closer we saw Luna in a bit of a mess.
“Fortunately, we managed to retrieve her using a net and, with some help from other walkers, could untie her but she was clearly in shock and couldn’t fly.”
After recovering the owl, Ms Cleary contacted Carly Åhlén of Gabo Wildlife, a self-funded foundation focussed on rehabilitating injured animals such as owls, birds of prey and swans.
Miss Åhlén made the two-hour journey from Kent to collect Luna and diagnosed an injury to the bird’s right-wing.
Tawny owls pair off from one-year-old and usually remain in a monogamous relationship for life in an established territory so it was imperative Luna made a swift recovery and was returned to the same location she was rescued.
After two-weeks of rehabilitation Luna received the green-light to return home and, after some pre-flight checks, made the journey back to Berkshire.
Miss Åhlén invited Ms Cleary and her family along to witness the release which took place on the evening of Friday, January 21.
“Luna has warmed all our hearts and it was really lovely to see her back where she belongs,” said Ms Cleary
Miss Åhlén added: “She flew nice and strong, after disappearing into the tree line for a few moments to focus she then took flight across the river – she looked wonderful.”
On this occasion Luna made a full recovery but Miss Åhlén was keen to stress not all animals get such a lucky escape.
“I urge all anglers to please take home broken fishing lines, snags and weights, you will be helping to prevent the deaths of hundreds of birds and our valuable wildlife too, ” she said.
